Monday, December 29, 2014

In 1985 Mrs. Chatterbox's parents moved to Oregon to be closer to their grandson. When Grandpa decided to take little CJ to his first baseball game, our son learned more than we'd bargained for. Read about it (here).

Friday, December 26, 2014

The mall was choked with
shoppers returning Christmas presents and looking for end of year deals. My
sister had gifted me an unsuitable sweater and I’d come to return it.I found something at the mall far more useful than a sweater. Check it out (here.)

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

This illustration was the companion piece to the
Hanukkah picture I painted and posted along with the story The Deal Breaker
on Being Jewish. Both were commissioned for a greeting card company, but I can’t
remember which one. Check out the entire Christmas illustration (here).

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

One of the details in St.
Francis lore capturing my attention was the Porziuncola, a small chapel that had fallen into disrepair in
Francis’ day. This structure was important to the saint, but you might be surprised to learn what happened to it. Read about it (here).

Monday, December 15, 2014

I’ve spent years in
retail and know what it means to give good service, and I treat salespeople as
I wanted to be treated when I was wearing the nametag. But one fellow didn’t
care much for me in spite of my attempts to thaw his icy disapproval. Read about it (here).

Friday, December 12, 2014

I was driving home from the
grocery store yesterday and the deejay on the radio was spinning moldy oldies
and asking trivia questions. One of the questions was: “What was the first toy
or game advertised directly to children on television?” The answer is (here).

Thursday, December 11, 2014

On November 17th I
mentioned that I was entering a travel writing contest with my entry Whirling
Dervishes. My piece made it through the
first round and is being considered for a prize. Help me grab the judge's attention by going (here).

Monday, December 8, 2014

Most of Britain’s great writers are
memorialized inPoet’s Corner in
Westminster Abbey, and quite a few are buried there, including Chaucer, Blake,
Browning, Dickens, Tennyson and Kipling. Interred here is James Macpherson.
Never heard of him? He pulled off the most successful literary scam in modern
history. Read about it (here).

Friday, December 5, 2014

The nice folks at Retirement and
Good Living have asked for another story,
and I’ve shared an account of a special car I purchased to celebrate my
retirement. I might have gone too far with a practical joke I pulled on my
salesman—you be the judge. Read about it (here).

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

I’m
receiving pictures from fellow bloggers showing snow-covered front lawns and
backyards, reminding me of the first time I saw snow. Mrs. Chatterbox was an
Army brat and grew up in Germany where snow is plentiful, but for me snow was
an elusive mirage constantly out of reach. Until one day... Read about it (here).

Monday, December 1, 2014

It’s been cold and dreary
here in Portland, and I’ve been thinking about a wonderfully sunny excursion
Mrs. Chatterbox and I took several years ago aboard a special ship with an interesting history. Read about it (here).